Our Time

I figure it's my turn to take a stab at the blog. Kim is the primary publisher but I thought I would give it a try.

One of my favorite nights of the week is Wednesday night. Kim is involved in Girls of Grace ministry at church which gives me the opportunity to spend a couple of hours alone with Brennan. I work the three days before and maybe get to see him a total of 15 min per night, if at all, for those three days so Wednesday night comes as a much anticipated event.

Once Kim leaves our evening usually starts with dinner. We start with whatever is on the menu for him and once he finishes his plate he really enjoys doing everything in his power to reach every last bite on MY plate. It's hard to refuse those huge blue eyes and the continuous sign language for "more please."

At the conclusion of dinner, I spend the next several minutes in recovery mode from Brennan's table manners. A good meal for him is one that looks like it was thrown at him. It's everywhere including all over his face and in his hair, even sometimes it's in my hair. He has a blast and eats like a champ so I don't mind the clean up at all.

After the cleansing ritual we usually go upstairs and play for a while. He still loves to build blocks and knock them down. He brings me every toy he can find and gives it to me so that I can bring it to life for his imagination. If there is any music playing, he's dancing and if he finds a book he likes, it's time to get comfortable. He crawls into my lap and loves to point, turn the pages and try to read the words. Each book gets at least two passes. He is getting better at pronouncing what he sees. His intelligence is humbling.

So after some playing it's officially bath time and he LOVES his bath time. I think he still considers it play time and quite honestly so do I. He is trying to climb into the bath as I turn the water on while he is fully clothed. I'm sure one day he'll learn that's not such a good idea. Once I get him naked he runs his little naked self so fast back to the tub I can't hardly keep up. He's finally in the tub and surrounded by a sea of bath toys and by the look on his face, it doesn't get any better. He plays, splashes and yes, there is even a bath book that he reads. Sometimes I have some fun spiking his hair but he doesn't like it so much. I think he would if he could see it. But if he could tell you the best part of a bath, it's rinsing time. He loves the water being poured over his head. I have never seen him sign please for anything else more than gettin that shampoo out of his hair. He flails his arms and laughs more and more each time. He knows when the bath is over and is anxious to get into some warm pajamas. I pick him up out of the tub and he cuddles close to me to stay warm.

Finally the best part of our night is story time. I ask him to pick out a book and he has no problem doing that at all. It doesn't really matter what book it is, I do my best to make it out to be the most illustrative and action packed blockbuster movie I've ever seen. It makes it hard some times when he picks out "Baby's First Words" or "Farm Animals". He still has a blast and listens very intently.

After a few stories it's time for him to go to bed and he knows it. He runs for his crib and tries to climb in only to look up at me and sign "please" to lift him in. He gives me a good night hug and kiss as I lay him down. Believe it or not, he smiles as his eyes slowly close and he drifts off.

Our time on Wednesday night has come to a very quick end and I can only look forward to the next one which seems so far away. They are hard to count but the entire experience is perhaps one of the most rewarding things of being a father thus far. From the dinner table for two to the long bedtime stories and the bath fun in between. I could have never imagined how special these moments would be. I hope and pray that as Brennan's life quickly changes, I take the time and the effort to make all of his life experiences just like "our time" on Wednesday Nights. I love you buddy.